Beautiful Creature Of Darkness
by Theatrics-In-My-Blood
Summary: Christine knows what is right, and what is easy. And yet her angel weeps alone far beneath her feet. Is he truly human, or just another villain, another phantom, in the night... Christine/Phantom, set just after the events of Phantom. LND does not exist... R&R!
1. The Journey Home

**Authors Note: **I do not own Phantom, though I wish I did. This is set just after the events of P.O.T.O, once Meg finally leaves the lair. In case your wondering, it is Ramin and Sierra who act this in my mind, for they will forever be my cast.

The journey across the lake was a silent one. Christine sat with her head bowed, feeling hot tears splash onto her folded hands. Though her eyes were squeezed tight shut, images flashed across her mind, of both the man she sat with now and the Phantom. Thinking of him just made her cry all the more. What her angel had done to Raoul was barbaric, unforgivable even, and yet... she couldn't make his expression as she left, that of a wounded animal, fade away. What would become of him? Was he to be caught, destroyed?

She didn't understand him at all, despite knowing him so well. He was a monster, but unlike any from her nightmares. He had committed countless atrocities, but she couldn't understand what could move him to such brutality, such hate. She _needed _to understand, to know that she hadn't betrayed him in not honoring her agreement. She needed to know she was right in leaving, choosing light over dark. For a second, in the cave, she had seen something almost human in his eyes, and she needed to know is she had been mistaken.

The boat reached the edge of the lake, and Raoul reached out to take her elbow. He had obviously seen her tears as hysterics. "It's okay, he's gone" he murmured. Christine pulled herself gently from his grasp.

"I'm going back, wait for me here." She said

His face distorted with grief, she knew it must seem as though she was returning to him, for that kiss they had shared through his eyes must have looked true. Agonised, she grasped his hands. Her kiss hadn't been planned, she hadn't _tried _to deceive him, and yet he had given her a chance to leave so she had taken it. Was that so wrong?

"Raoul..." she whispered "Please trust me. I have to return, there is something I must know...Please Raoul..."

He nodded grudgingly, though his eyes betrayed the pain he felt. He sucked in a breath and held it. "I shall not move until you return." he promised.

Christine released him, though her hands were shaking so much she could barley board the boat. Silently, she started the long journey across the lake. She didn't look back, she couldn't bare to. Because, and she didn't want to admit it, a small part of her was excited...

Slowly, the cave came into view...


	2. Demon In The Darkness

Christine fought for control as she stepped out of the boat. Shivering with cold and emotion, the empty piano, with the candles still lit, was a hard sight to behold. Her thoughts flitted back to her first lesson with the angel, the first time she ever saw him. How beautiful he had been, a mystery in the mirror, a spirit from her fathers world. And yet, they were all lies, and like the wild fantasies of the operas he wrote, could never be...

The real question was, did she care? She knew he was the phantom that night when she first saw his face, and yet she still sang with him, caressed him, allowed him to show her a world she knew existed. Even then, she let herself trust him, though he struck her and screamed. Did she care that he was a demon, really? Or was it just his magic?

As she thought, she glanced at his throne. His cloak lay discarded nearby, and a terrible silence seemed to fall. His cavarn was too empty by far, something was missing. It felt as through the music had left, leaving only a malicious darkness and an evil quiet. It was only when her eyes found the throne itself, and the mask upon it, that she knew.

He was dead, he had to be. The mask was all he had with which to protect himself, all that mattered at times. To see it lying unused could only mean he no longer needed it, or that he no longer cared. Captured by the angry theatre folk? Dragged away in the precious few moments they had spent apart? Or something worse... Christine didn't want to think about it, but the thoughts came readily. He had confessed his love again, bared both his soul and face to her, and yet she had left him. She had broken his heart, and maybe it had been too much, had her beloved angel decided to take the lasso to himself..?

Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled over. Picking the mask up, she ran her fingers over it, feeling the way it fit his face perfectly. In it, she could almost feel his energy. The raging hate towards himself, the bottomless despair, the hopeless affection. She could almost pretend he was back.

But that couldn't be so. He was a monster, an emotionless thing, not a man.

Before she could help herself, she sighed into the night, her words carrying easily. It was pointless, and dangerous she knew, but she couldn't leave again without knowing. If it was possible to owe things to a creature, she easily owed him her life.

"Phantom, Angel... Are you there?"


	3. Broken Melodies

Christine waited, and around her the silence ebbed and flowed. She'd trusted him, hated him, even loved him, but the lack of him hurt her most of all. He was her life, whether she liked it or not, and without him she felt like she could never sing again...

But if he was here, why would he reveal himself? She'd only ever abused him, though he'd tried so hard to make her see him for what he was. She'd scorned him over and over, and he owed her nothing. No, he had no reason to come. She had to use something more powerful than her, something stronger.

Her Voice...

She cleared her throat. She felt the blackness around her, embraced it, imagining a world where even the ugly was beautiful. A life where the nights were endless and the stars boundless. She felt her love, and hate, and confusion burn up brightly within her, and when her voice burst from her it was clean and pure.

"Night time sharpens, heightens the sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses..."

She waited. A rich voice rose up from far away, deep and alluring but strained, as though he was in pain. "Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender."

Relief and bittersweet collided in her core, and their two voices melded and rose through the cavarn like lightning. Nothing else mattered except the lyrics, and how now they rang so true. "Turn your face away from the garish light of day. Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light"

She dropped back, letting him end the duet on his own. He sounded close, but his voice sounded defeated. No longer was this song majestic, its power was harrowing and sombre, it was a mournful song. It was the song of those who have already given up... Christine couldn't help it, she began to sob. She sunk down onto the floor, ignoring the cold and the squalor until numbness took over. Her angel had fallen, Raoul believed she had betrayed him, and she was still wearing the tattered wedding dress which bore the marks of his anger.

Suddenly, she felt strong arms around her, and she was pulled to her feet. The mask lay inches away, unused. She knew what she would see when she turned, and yet she did not want to look. She didn't want to see the anguish in his eyes. Ever so slowly, she turned her head. Before her stood the phantom. His eyes were red, his clothes rumpled and stained. Ink splattered his cuffs, and she knew that in his desperation he must have turned to his music. What could she say? What words were there, what could possibly reverse the damage she had done to him? She reached for the right sentiment, but nothing came. He stood with his arms wrapped around her and their faces in inches apart, while the silence grew.

He was the one to break it. He cowered, shielding the disfigured side of his face with his hand, and snatched up the mask. When it was on, he turned around to face her, and spoke so quietly she if could have been the rustle of his parchment.

"Return. Go back to Raoul. Please."


	4. Behind The Scars

Christine stepped back, surprised. She didn't know what she'd expected or wanted him to saw, but it wasn't that. Why? Why would he want her gone, after going to such lengths to keep her? She found her voice at last, but it was weak.

"Why?"

He scrubbed a hand through the down on his head. The masked side of him was smooth and impassive, but the other was wild. He gritted his teeth, as though each word was being torn from him.

"Because I belong here Christine, and you do not! I both a fiend and a murderer, and I cannot promise I would spare you. When I think about you in the arms of that man I just want to kill. Understand? I want him dead! You need to be as far from means possible, and I cannot bear you here, knowing he is waiting."

She started. Here was the phantom she knew, rage and torment. But there was no doubt he was human. Only a man, with a heart and soul, could speak with such plain agony. Only a man could look at her as though her presence was torture. No, he was a man, and a man in love.

"But he is not here. He is across the lake, and we are alone. I was wrong, leaving the way I did, I took advantage of you. I came to honour our bargain."

She didn't realise what she'd said until she had done, but she didn't regret the words. Condemning herself to a life of this didn't even upset her, when compared to how she had upset him. Her sadness was just a raindrop in the torrent of his pain.. How could she deny him this.

Her angel looked angry. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Do you really think me that callous, to hold you to a bargain that I made in a fury? No, you are free to go and I wish you well, for he can better care for you."

Christine stepped towards him so their chests pressed together, though it clearly upset him. It didn't matter. She knew she didn't want to leave this angel anymore, how could she? He was wounded and he needed her, but it was so much more than that. "You are so beautiful." she said, speaking her thoughts aloud. "You have been denied love all your years, yet you refuse it in my interest. I know I could not bare it... You think yourself a monster, but you are an angel. "

She paused, the next words hurt, but they rang true. "If Raoul could tear you limb from limb, he would, and nothing I could say would sway him. Yet you detest him with every breath you take, and you released him."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly "Your rage is great my angel, but your love is stronger. You who seems less human than us all are the very best of us, and you don't need this," She tapped the mask "to show it. I love you as you are, your darkness and all. My angel, my phantom, I've been cruel just like everyone else, and it is me that doesn't deserve you. But I want you more than anything."

On tiptoe, she kissed him quickly. It had not the passion of their earlier kiss, but it was enquiring, pleading. How could she make him see that he was not the villain of the piece, but the hero?


	5. The Masked Truth

**Authors Note:** Thank you so much for all the good reviews. I barely EVER write fanfiction that isn't self-indulgent mary-sueish rubbish. So thanks.

Christine wasn't sure if she'd pushed it too far. He was, of course, a murderous phantom. Yet when she looked up at him, her arms around his waist, it wasn't fury she saw. He looked at her in a way that seemed almost hopeless, and he smiled wryly. Her heart flopped.

"Christine, you have always been too trusting of me, to kind to me. You cannot truly believe I am a good man. I let him go not because of him, but you. When you kissed me... it was like I couldn't think straight. All I saw was you, shining and perfect, and my lasso around that mans neck. You gave me compassion, and yet I was holding the life of someone you really, truly loved in my hands. I saw then how much of a monster I was, and I decided that I had to do but one thing to show you the strength of my love, I had to spare him, and sent you away. So I did. I did it because I loved you, not because I am not evil. I do not deserve anyone, and it is better that way..."

She understood then. He thought she spoke of his love as though it burned away his darkness, as though he wasn't as evil because of it. How sweet, how naive of him to think so. She could see how badly he wanted to give in to her, but how strong his conviction was. He wasn't denying what she said, he simply couldn't understand why she would love him.

There was nothing else for it...

She stepped closer towards him, and traced a finger down his mask; she felt him shiver. Gently, she began to prize it from his face. Just as she knew it would come free, she shut her eyes. Mask in her hand, she put it on the floor blindly, and stood up.

"See," she said quietly, her voice serious "I could take your mask, to show you I don't care about what you are, or what you look like. But that would be wrong, because I _do _care. I think you are beautiful _because _of what you are, not in spite of it. It is your rage and your confusion and your scars that make you who you are..."

She stooped, picking up the mask again. "But my eyes are closed. Because even though you don't need to hide away, it wouldn't be fair to take that liberty. I didn't get it before, but I do now. I thought you wore this to stop me discovering your secret, so you wouldn't need it once I knew. But that's not it, is it? It's because you don't want me to see, you don't want to be that person, You want to be an angel. This mask... it's as much a part of who you are as your music is. It's your mask that is the angel, and the phantom. It makes you..."

She held out the mask, and felt him slowly pull it from her grasp.

"...and It's you I love. Phantom and Angel and all."

Slowly she opened her eyes. He stood before her with his mask on, an odd expression the half of his face she could see. His eyes were sad, but he was smiling. As she watched, tears dripped down his face. He held out his hands. He looked so lost, so confused, that she felt her heart burst with pity for him.

She took his hands, and he looked deep into her eyes and began to sing. The songs melody was familiar, like the chorus of that which Phantom had sung to her on stage, and Raoul had sung to her in the grave yard. And yet the words were new, sounding happy and broken and angry, all at the same time. His hands gripped her tighter.

"Though you understand, each thought

Each feeling...

I can't let you, live a lie I made you choose!

Christine, though I know that I love you..."


	6. Their Solstice

What was he saying. That he wouldn't be with her, even after she so completely poured her heart out? Oh, how his hatred for himself blinded him! Oh, how it ruined everything! She loved him, and him her, and yet he wouldn't let them be. No matter what she did he didn't want to give in, to believe he was worth loving.

"Oh angel, please understand! It was always my choice. Why would I have come back to the graveyard after knowing who you were, why would I have performed in your opera? Even when you stole me away it was because I provoked you. Because deep down, even as I kissed Raoul, I knew I couldn't be with him. I knew I was not the blase little girl he wanted me to be. It's always been you Phantom, ever since I first sang with you!"

"But Christine, you do not deserve a life of darkness, with a man who has killed and manipulated all his years. You are a songbird, and belong in the sunshine. I belong here, in the shadows."

"Angel, listen! Please! I do not belong in the sun as everybody believes. Why would I," she half smiled "When I spend my hours with a spectre and my evenings performing to a darkened room. That night, when you sang Music of the Night, all of it applied to me. _All _of it. I belong here, with you."

"Christine-"

She cut him off, he voice in full flight. "Past the point of no return, no backward glances. The games we played 'til now are at an end. Past all thought of 'If' or 'When', no use resisting... Abandon thought and let the dream descend."

Her angel inhaled deeply, and when he breathed out all the tension was gone from his face. He stretched his hands towards her, and timidly took her elbow, before guiding her to his piano. "Sing for me and I will join you." he whispered.

She smiled her ascent. "What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us?" She his soft gasp at the last line, then he joined in.

Her voice soared, and his swirled around it like a delicious storm "Past the point of no return, the final threshold. What warm unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return."

The music intensified and they got lost in gladly. Christine's eyes were closed, one hand on her stomach and the other rising upwards with the notes. She sang her heart out, knowing the last time they had properly duetted (aside from earlier) it had been in anger and hatred, and she didn't feel any of it anymore.

When the song finished she stood there for a few minutes with her eyes closed, enjoying the moment. Then she felt lips meet her own. Surprised, she kissed back, and when he tried to pull away she didn't let him. She put all of her love into the kiss, so that no-one could mistake her feelings for him, and eventually opened her eyes.

Her angel stared back, and she could see that through his mask his eyes were shining. With hope this time, not despair. "I can't promise you a happy ending" he murmured "but my theatre is yours, this place is yours, and my heart... that has always been yours."

"As long as I have you Angel," I whispered, "all is well."


	7. The Choice

Her angel smiled, still holding her in his arms. "I am a selfish man, I could never resist you for long." His smile darkened only slightly "Even if I ought to, I never could. So, if you are sure about this I swear I will do my best to protect you." His velvet voice broke "Christine, you are my angel. Yet over the sun and light you chose darkness and demons. You... _saved _me Christine, and I owe so my life a thousand times over, I only hope you are content with my heart."

She sighed contentedly "In the night there are always stars Angel, and you are the brightest of all of them. And until I met you, I never truly lived. I don't care about your ever afters, only you."

In his arms, she was utterly at peace. Yet she felt his sharp intake of breath on her neck and looked up at him questioningly.

"He still waits for you out there... Raoul"

His expression was tormented. "You have to go to him." he said at last "Lest he will come and find you. That wouldn't bode well for me.."

Christine sighed, and guilt came at her in a powerful wave. If it wasn't for her angel, she would have stumbled. Yes, she had to go to him... but it wasn't going to be easy. She could picture his pain, and his sorrow. He would come to the conclusion that her Phantom had somehow hypnotized her again, and she wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. What if he went back to the lake, to take down her supposed captor, just as he had before?

"Angel... If I return he will not let me go. I would have to say at his side... forever." She shook her head, trying to dispel the image. Yes, she did love Raoul, but in the way one loves a friend or a brother. Aside from that, he was too good for her, in every sense of the word. Phantoms magic only worked on those inclined to believe it, so somewhere within Christine was a darkness, a decadence, a strain of something pure and dangerous.

Raoul would never understand that... he was a true hero. He deserved someone who was as light and shining as he was was, not someone tainted by the liberal ideas of the theatre. No, she wouldn't have stayed with him anyway, but he believed her still to be that child he was friends with. Rejecting him for what he thought was a monster would still hurt him though, and she didn't want to do it. Even if she had to...

Her phantoms eyes were brooding, bottomless and black. "I would not let him take you Christine, not if it isn't what you want. We cannot let him stay there though, as much as I'd like to..."

He traced a hand down her cheek sadly "One of us must go... and soon. What would you have me do..?"

Christine thought about it, leaning in to his touch. "It should be me, it is the decent thing to do. I still care for him, but we could never be... I belong here, in the shadows, not in a life of societies design. I will go... but I am scared." She blushed, ashamed of her fear. Her angel had much more to fear from this, and yet she balked at the idea of talking to her own best friend.

"Why, my love?" His voice was inquiring, but laced with frost. Ready to kill whatever was frightening her.

"Because... " she shied from the words. She sounded so immature, so childish. "..I've never, you know, ended things before... I don't want to hurt him."

She felt her angel chuckle "Oh Christine, I forget quite how young you are... Of all the things to worry about. I promise you it will okay, as long as you are honest. Make sure he knows you care for him, and that you are not doing this to spite him. As long as he knows that it's not him at fault, it will be alright."

He paused, and let go of her so she could face him. "Would you like me to go with you? I swear I will keep out of sight."


End file.
